E53X5

Thanks. I'm glad to hear that since I like STI magazines better myself, so I'd rather go that route. I sent an email to Beven earlier today but haven't heard back yet. I'll wait for his reply for a couple of days and see what he says; otherwise, I'll just go ahead and order some STI tubes.

That thought had crossed my mind, too. I guess I will do that.

.40S&W for Limited

The search didn't help me find the answer to this, so... I'm planning on buying new 140mm tubes with the intention of sending them to be tuned (most likely to Grams Engineering). My question is, should I go with STI or SV tubes? It seems like SV tubes are a little more popular here, but there are many people that are happy with their tuned STI magazines as well. It looks like I can get STI tubes for about $10 less each than SV, so are SV tubes worth that extra $10?

I tried the "finger in front of the trigger guard" grip once or twice, but it doesn't work for me. It seems like my weak hand index finger gets in the way of my trigger finger. I also end up pulling the muzzle around with the index finger.

I don't think I'm ready to switch to a plain black front sight yet myself, but I can relate. I first tried a FO sight about 3 years ago and really liked the results - very easy to pick up and made me feel like I was able to shoot faster. My favorite sight at that time was Brazos Lightning Rod with its huge dot (.060" rod that gave even bigger dot when melted). Recently, when I was building my new Limited gun, I decided to try Brazos Micro Dot just to see how it compares to the Lightning Rod; at first I thought the dot was a little too small (.040" "fixed" size dot), but now I'm really glad I switched - I can still pick up the dot very quickly, yet it's small enough to allow me to see the sight itself clearly (which I couldn't before because the dot was covering most of it), and once again, I feel my accuracy and speed have improved a little because of that. Who knows, maybe a couple of years from now I'll try a plain black sight and realize how much better it is compared to my current choice.

My very first 1911 had 30lpi front strap, and I thought it was rough. Now, 25lpi is my favorite treatment for range/competition (not for carry thought) and I don't find it abrasive at all. I still find 20lpi a little too coarse, but I'm sure it could be gotten used to.

Amazon.com usually has helpful reviews for most of the products they sell (or someone sells through their Marketplace deal), and it seems like you can buy just about anything there these days... Not quite as big as eBay, but they are getting there.

The top one: - STI frame with modified STI magwell (to make it IDPA legal) - Caspian slide with 25lpi cocking serrations and "French border" - Brown beavertail, thumb safety, and most of other small parts - C&S ignition components (ultra light match) - SV trigger - KKM Precision barrel, W/N ramp - Bo-Mar rear sight; Brazos Micro Dot front - Built by Virgil Tripp The bottom one is very similar to the first one with some minor differences: - STI slide - Nowlin barrel - Modified EGW front sight Both are hard chrome plated by Virgil.

Here are two of my IDPA-legal Limited guns. I'd never liked the double-stacks before and shot single-stacks in both CDP and ESP, but after shooting these two - I don't even want to shoot anything else.

Here are my ESP and CDP guns built and plated by Virgil. He doesn't just know a thing or two about plating; he knows how to build them things, too. I've also had 3 other guns hard chrome plated and/or Cobra Coated, and have two more on the way to Alpine as we speak. There is just no reason to go anywhere else for a good finish - silver or black.

Here's a black (well, used to be black ) aluminum STI magwell that's been bead blasted:

I tried (and liked) Novak magazines, but due to the cracking problem had to get rid of them. I've been using Wilson Combat magazines almost exclusively for a few years and never had any problems (as long as springs are kept fresh). Now that Wilson will no longer replace springs and/or followers under warranty, I will most likely start switching to Tripp's CobraMags.

Thanks guys. I didn't realize the P-01 was a compact size gun. SP-01 is more along the lines of what I'd want; however, it looks like it's not SSP-legal due to its weight. I guess I'll have to keep looking for either 75 or 85.

Does anybody know whether or not CZ P-01 is SSP legal? The full length dust cover is only illegal in ESP, and even there it wouldn't apply in this case since P-01 has aluminum frame. The weight also seems to be well within the 39oz. limit - according to CZ-usa.com the P-01 is 1.7lbs = 27.2oz; even if it doesn't include a magazine, I don't suppose a magazine would be over 10oz. Both width and height seem to be within the limit as well, unless the numbers on the website don't include the magazine. I don't know about the length since it's not listed on their website, only barrel length. So, can anyone confirm, or otherwise, legality of this gun for SSP? TIA. P.S. If it is legal, would it be a good choice for SSP? Or would CZ 75 or CZ 85 be a better way to go? If so, why? I'm currently shooting G17, but it's not working out very well for me... P.P.S. There also seems to be CZ 75 SP-01 that looks very similar to P-01; is it the same model, or are there any differences between the two?

Another vote for Comp-Tac. Great guys, great products, and will always go an extra step to help any way they can.

Kimber is known for mixing parts in their guns, so it's possible that you have some stainless parts in an otherwise "black" gun (Kimber has never offered blued guns). The way your thumb safety feels will also depend on the beavertail you're using. Kimber beavertails are not very "high-cut" so you can get away with using most thumb safeties with very little blending in (if any). "High-ride" beavertails such as Brown, King's, CMC, etc., on the other hand, will require much more grinding to blend them in to the rear of the frame. Here's what I had to do with stock Kimber thumb safety after installing King's beavertail:

John Harrison of Precision Gunworks does excellent work; I've had several guns worked on by him, including a full house custom Caspian, and they all run great. My CDP gun is a DW Patriot tuned by John. But be prepared to wait... I will also second rubberneck's advise to talk to Virgil. I'm waiting for a couple of guns to be finished by Virgil as we speak (complete custom builds from the ground up). His prices are very reasonable, and while other smith's wait times are measured in months and even years, Virgil's wait times are measured in weeks. Hey rubberneck... Let's keep this secret to ourselves, would ya? I don't want Virgil's waiting list to grow as long as others.

Thanks. I'll check it out. Sounds like it may be a good investment that won't break the bank.

You know, that's something I've been thinking about, too. I do spend a lot of time in the garage, so it would definitely be a good thing to have. Unfortunately, it brings my "reloading start up" price up considerably. Did you go with a portable unit, or just a "line" off of the main unit?

One more question... What is the footprint of a 650 (and 550), and how much bench top space would I need for other accessories/tools within the immediate reloading area? It looks like the only place I could set up the press inside the house is in the corner of the laundry room. It's already pretty packed, so the most bench I could put in there would be something like 30"x12" max. I would probably have to build it myself to fit it in there. Would that be enough, or would I be wasting time trying to build my reloading bench there? My only other option is to have it all set up in the garage - still limited space, but I could fit a "full size" bench there (The Home Depot has very nice Husky heavy duty bench with 54"x23"x1" bench top for $180). TIA.

Doh! Just goes to show how well I've got the terminology down.

That I'm OK with. It will definitely be done in the garage since it doesn't require my presence - just load it up, turn it on and get back inside.

I'd like to thank everybody for their comments so far. I've learned a lot from this thread, and the link Nik posted has wealth of information. I spent most of last night and today reading every post on the subject I could find. I think I have my choices narrowed down to 550 and 650 at this point, but I can't decide which one. There seems to be as many fans of one as there are of another. Both are highly recommended, and both have their pluses and minuses. My gut tells me I want 650 - don't know why; probably because it's more fool-proof - while 550 sounds like a better fit for my skill level and my needs (volume). Some of the most notable downsides of 650 seem to be its cost, its "priming system", and its complexity. Both 550 and 650 are within my "comfort level" money-wise, so I'm not concerned with cost difference very much; besides, I'm buying a piece of mind with that extra money spent on 650, and that alone is worth it to me. I'm also not very concerned with complexity of the machine itself and its operation - I'm thinking my engineering degree should be enough to figure it out. Besides, I have a few local fellow shooters willing to help me out with the setup and getting me started. The third issue (priming system) has me worried a little however. How big of a deal is it really? I guess since so many people use 650 and recomend it, it could be that much of an issue, but still. Also, maybe a strange question, but how loud is it to "operate" a press? I'm still trying to decide where to get everything set up; I've been thinking about setting it up in the garage, but on the second thought, I can't spend 10 minutes in my garage during summer without starting to sweat like a pig, let alone sitting there for 2 hours racking the press handle repeteadly. There aren't many places I could do it inside the house (let me rephrase that - not many places my wife will let me do it inside the house ), especially if it makes a lot of noise. Thanks, Alex.

I already pick up brass, so I already know what it's like. Tumbling it - well, that's just another piece of equipment I'm going to have to buy I guess. I'm pretty sure I do. I have quite a few 1911s to keep fed, so .45 is a must. My ESP "fat .40" also seems to be hungry all the time... If my reloading idea really takes off, I will probably drop 9mm all together and stick to .40 for both ESP and SSP (and whatever other "games" I get into in the future). Another thing that makes the decision making hard is being new to terminology and not being able to understand what each feature really does. I've read specs on different presses I'm considering, but I can't tell which of the features are "a must", which ones are "nice to have", and which ones are just "bells and whistles". Could someone explain in plain English the difference between SDB, 550, 650 and 1050? So far I know that SDB is a little different and uses different components/dies that are not interchangeable with other presses. I also now know that auto indexing is very good to have (pretty much a must have), even though I don't really understand what it does. As far as volume goes - I don't shoot as much as I used to, but I'm planning on shooting more in the future. That 1500 in 2 hours number mentioned above would be plenty enough. 1050 seems like overkill for my needs since its biggest selling point is volume. Am I correct? Therefore, I will most likely be deciding between the other 3 models.